The Roman Space Telescope entered final launch preparations for liftoff no earlier than August 30. Ship 41 completed a six-engine static fire before Starship's first attempt to reach orbit.
NASA, SpaceX and mission managers completed the flight-readiness review at Kennedy Space Center and cleared the Roman Space Telescope to enter final launch preparations. Liftoff on a Falcon Heavy is planned no earlier than the morning of August 30. The decision does not make launch certain; it marks the formal readiness gate that allows the observatory's final processing to proceed.[1]
The encapsulated observatory will move to the SpaceX hangar at pad 39A in the coming days. Roman is designed to study the expansion of the universe and exoplanets. Today's development marks calendar progress for the instrument meant to make those observations possible. The no-earlier-than wording also preserves the work that teams still have to complete before launch day.[1]
SpaceX fired one Raptor 3 engine on Ship 41 for about 15 seconds at the Massey's test site, then fired all six for about 60 seconds the next day. The tests are part of the plan for Flight 14 to take Starship to orbit for the first time. Flight could slip into early to mid-September; prelaunch work remains on the ship and Booster 21, and Ship 41 is meant to make a soft ocean splashdown rather than return to the tower.[2]
